Car roof



CAR ROOF Filed Feb. 24, 1934 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 19 1935 .UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE can noor John J. Tatum, Baltimore, Md.

Application February 24, 1934, Serial No. 712,833 SClaims. (01.108-5)This invention relates to improvements in roofs for railway cars of thebox or house type.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel construction ofrunning board which stiifens and gives greater strength and rigidity tothe roof and ensures greater safety to trainmen against a a being thrownfrom the roof.-

Another object of the invention is to provide a Mansard style of roofgiving greater inside 19 vertical height, or free inside height, andembodying the novel construction of running board.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination andarrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, refer- 15ence being-had to the accompanying drawing, in

which:---

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through'the roof portion of a carembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the 20 same.

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views showing a modification in the runningboard structure.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, irepresents the upper portion 25 of a car body of box or house typehaving side walls formed of the outer sidesheets 2 and the lining 3 ofany suitable material, the side sheets and'lining being joined at theirupper edges or' r at the eaves line by Z-shaped eaves'or side plates 30or angle beams 4, to which the upper edges of the side sheets may beriveted or otherwise suitably secured, as indicated at 5. Upon theseplates or beams 4, and upon corresponding or other suitably constructedplates or beams upon 35 the. car end walls, is supported a roof 6. Thisroof is shown as being of maximum height at a central point or ridge 1and formed of sheets 8 and 9 sloping at a suitable angle, transverselyof the car, downwardly and outwardly toward the 40 side sheets, saidroof sheets 8 and 9 terminating at their outer edges in flanges l bentdownwardly at a sharp angle therefrom.

As shown in the present instance, the roof proper 6, which is ofsuitably less width than the 45 width of the car, or the distancebetween the side walls or sheets, but, which extends transversely themajor portion of the distance between the roof center and side sheets,is sup-- ported at a proper elevation above the eaves 50 plates or beams4 so as to form a storage space or chamber ll located in the roof zoneor above the level of said eaves plates or beams. To this end, extensionsheets or hip sheets lZ are provided at the sides of the roof which areof relatively less transverse extent than the roof sheets to form asupporting roof base, and which may be sloped or pitched at a greaterangle than the roof sheets, whereby the roof '6 is carried upon the sideand end walls at such height as to provide a storage space or chamber llof the desired depth. These sheets I2 extend upwardly and inwardly atthe desired angle of inclination or slope from.the upper flanges of theside or eaves plates or beams 4 to the side of the roof and are providedat their lower edges with flanges 10 I3 suitably secured, as by rivetsl4, to the upstanding flanges of the plates or beams 4 and provided attheir upper edges with flanges l5 suitably secured, as by rivets l5, tothe downturned flanges ill of the roof sheets8 and 9. By thisconstruction a roof is provided which is elevated for the purpose ofmaking the car as high as possible between the -floor and ceilingwithout encroaching on the American Railway Association clearance lines,and in which the roof is stably supported by the inclined extension orhip sheets l2 which properly restrict the width of the roof and at thesame time are so sloped as to form with the sloping roof sheets a properwater shed for the purpose of carrying 011? all rain water or water frommelting ice or snow without the necessity of employing special means forthis purpose or protecting'parts of the side roof structure againstleakage or conditions causing rust. The storage space H thus afforded inthe roof zone and above the level of the side sheets is of considerabledepth and substantially equal in width to the storage space in the carbody below and of sufficient cubic capacity in practice to receiveloading devices or racks of various kinds for supporting automobiles orother elevated lading in the upper portion of the car, and which may bestored or used for supporting and storing lading arranged above thelevel of other lading carried in the car body below. As a result, the.full height or depth of the body will be left clear to be filled withfreight or lading which may extend up into the root storage chamber ll,thus greatly increasing the cubic carrying capacity of the car, or thecar body may be filled with freight or lading up to its full'height andthe chamber ll employed to receive automobile loading frames or rackswhich may be stored therein when the car is not being used forthe-transportation of automobiles, thus allowing one and the same car tobe employed for the transportation of automobiles as well as other kindsof freight. In'the use of automobile frames or racks for carryingautomobiles in the upper portion of a box or house car, which arefoldable or movable to a storage position up against the roof, myimproved construction permits of the reception of such frames or rackswithin a chamber II which is wholly in the roof zone, and above thelevel of the eaves line represented by the plates or beams 4, therebyallow- .ing such frames or racks to be carried without the sameextending downwardly into and limiting the lading receiving space of thebody proper, as is the case in the use of such frames or racks in box orhouse cars of ordinaryconstruction.

I provide at the center of the roof a running board or raceway platformstructure which stiffens and strengthens the roof while at the same timeforming a runway for the movements of t-rainmen which ensures maximumsafety to the trainmen under all running conditions and in all kinds ofweather. To this end I provide the roof with a central, longitudinallyextending upstanding boss or platform base I6 formed by stamping orupsetting the metal in an upward direction, which base forms a supportfor a running board proper. As shown, this base is formed by projectingportions of the sheets 8 and 9 upwardly in the form of flanges or risersH which are connected by a horizontal platform portion l8 and forming anarrowed base for the running board I9. This running board is preferablyformed of heavy sheet metal extending from end to end of the roof andwhich is preferably of a greater width than the width of its platformbase, so

that the longitudinal edges of the platform project beyond the flangesl1 and form grip flanges or extensions 20 which afford continuous gripsor handholes which a trainman may grasp, in cases of emergency, to givehim a secure hold to prevent-him from being thrown off the car, theconstruction being such that the trainman may either sit or lie down onthe roof or running board and hold firmly onto the grip flanges. Therunning board may be stamped or otherwise formed or finished to providethereon roughened surfaces, soas to adapt it to serve as an antiskid oranti-slipping running board. The runnlng board may be secured to thebase I8 by welding or riveting, fastening rivets 2| being shown asemployed in the present instance. Also, if desired, the flanges 29 maybe provided with down-bent portions 20', thus forming angular flangesaffording non-slipping grips.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the: drawing I have shown a modified construction inwhich the platform supporting base I6, instead of being in the form of alongitudinally continuous boss, comprises spaced transverse bossessupporting a runway plate of the construction previously described andwhich may be secured to the bosses in the same manner.

From the foregoing description, taken .in connection with the drawing,the construction of 10 my improved car roof will be readily understood,and it will be seen that the invention provides a roof of the typedescribed giving maximum interior vertical height, or free insideheight, for storage purposes, and which embodies a running board ofnovel structure giving greater strength and stiffness to the roof andgripping means affording greater security to trainmen against beingthrown from the train. Other advantages of the invention will be fullyunderstood by those versed in the art without a further andextended'description.-

While the features of construction herein disclosed for purposes ofexemplification are preferred, it will, of course, be understood" thatchanges in the form, construction, arrangement and proportions of partswithin the scope of the appended claims may be made without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a car roof construction, a car having side sheets, sloping roofsheets provided at the peak with a running board base pressed upwardtherefrom, and'a running board sheet fastened to said 85 base andextended at its side edges beyond the base to form grip flanges.

2. In a car roof construction, a roof comprising metal sheets having abossed up portion forming a runway supporting base, and a runway plat-40 form, wider than the base, resting and secured to said base.

3. In a car roof construction, a roof comprising metal sheets having abossed up portion forming a runway supporting base, and a sheet metalrunway platform resting on and secured to said base, said platform beingof greater width thanthe base whereby itslongitudinal side edges provideextending grip flanges at opposite sides of the base. JOHN J. TATUM.

